Why YA Matters

  • Why YA Matters

    Why I Write Young Adult

    Not too long ago, I read about an interaction between an author friend of mine and a dissatisfied reader who seemed to blame young adult protagonists for the unrealistic expectations of our youth today. Yep. You read that right. I wish I was joking, but sadly I’m not. This particular reader was obviously a lover of the contemporary classics that once used to the norm within literary culture. Jane Austen, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mary Shelley, and even Harper Lee have each left an indelible mark in the world. These authors created strong characters, interesting worlds, and subliminal moral end-games that still stand on their own, even today. There are some in the world…

  • An Author's Life,  Why YA Matters

    YA is Everywhere

    What books have you read lately? What movies have you seen? Unless you’ve been holed up in a cellar for the past year, there’s a good chance that you ran across a Young Adult novel in one form or another. Mockingjay, Part 1 If I Stay The Maze Runner Divergent The Fault in Our Stars What made all of these books such successful movies? Was it the plot? Was it the characters? What about “Pretty Little Liars”, “The Lying Game”, and “The Carrie Diaries”? All YA novels that were turned into TV shows. Whether it’s through books, movies, television, or even just walking down the street behind a bunch of…

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